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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Today my mother, Cathy, celebrates her 60th birthday! My mother has always had a large influence in my life. She has shown unimaginable strength and courage and has always, always been there for me. Congratulations on reaching this milestone, you are loved!

Monday, November 25, 2013

Lucinda McGonnigil is my third-great grandmother on my mother's side. She has the dubious distinction of having a last name that can be spelled a thousand ways, which has made research of her line a joy. She was born March 5, 1851 in Camden, Ray County, Missouri to Colonel Henderson McGonnigil and Mary Ellen Akers. She was the first of six children.

Colonel McGonigil is listed as a day laborer and a shop keeper. During the Civil War he was a bugler for the 6th Regiment Calvary Missouri State Militia. The family lived in Ray County, with a brief stint in Independence, Missouri in the 1860s. I have not been able to find any records for Colonel or Mary McGonnigil past 1870. I have not found them on the 1880 census, but their younger children were living with siblings so it can be assumed they had already passed.

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Lucinda married James Madison Thomas on October 23, 1870. (Her sister Mary married her brother-in-law, Eli, in 1875). The couple had eight children, but I have only found seven.

James was a coal miner and Lucinda was a housewife. Lucinda and James had to deal with quite a lot of pain in their lifetime. They lost one child at a young age, another son Roller died at age 14 due to an accident, and their son Russell died at 29 from tuberculosis. But I know little else of Lucinda.

She lived in Camden, Missouri, other than that short stint in Independence, her whole life and died there of liver failure on January 26, 1912. She is buried in Camden Cemetery, Camden, Missouri.

Due outs for Lucinda:
1. Look for an obituary
2. Request a photo of her headstone through Findagrave.com
3. Try to determine what church the family attended and look for records there.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Monday, November 18, 2013

Elizabeth Riffe is my third-great grandmother on my maternal side. She was born in Ray County, Missouri on May 20, 1875 to Isaac and Martha (Good) Riffe. Her grandparents, Jacob Riffe and Ruth Martin, were the first couple married in Ray County and her great-grandfather, Isaac Martin, was a pioneer settler in the County. Isaac Riffe was a carpenter and wagon maker. The couple had five children.

Isaac served in the Civil War, assigned to the 4th Missouri Volunteer Infantry (Confederate). Martha Riffe died in 1880 leaving Isaac with five children under 12. This is also about the time that Isaac disappears from record. I can find no trace of his death. It can be presumed that he died early which could be one reason why his daughter, Elizabeth, married at age 15.

On March 20, 1890 Elizabeth married George Tate Dudgeon in Ray County. The couple were farmers near Millville, Missouri for the rest of their lives.

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Sadly, I do not know much about Lizzie. But I am blessed to have a couple of photos of her.

A four-generation photo, probably taken around 1938. Lizzie is on the right.

Lizzie, right, with her daughter Minnie Lee.

Lizzie died on January 20, 1944 and was buried next to her husband in the New Hope Cemetery, near Millville, Missouri.